sly_karma
Crew Member
Lots of good discussion in the "Please educate us" thread, and there were a couple of mentions of what to do when you're fishing a crowded area and you get a fish on. I believe the right thing to do is to steer out of the lineup to fight the fish, and let the other boats continue on the pattern. After that, there are varying thoughts on the right thing, they generally come down to putting the boat in neutral, or keeping on trolling.
My belief is it's usually better to keep the engine in gear so you have steerage way to maneuver out of the busy area, and also the possibility of a second hookup. The boat can be turned a little to bring the fish in where it's easiest - over the aft quarter. If the fish isn't very large and the downrigger gear is reasonably deep, say 80 ft or more, I think it's OK to leave the second downrigger down whilst the fish is landed.
Things change if fishing shallow or if it's clear that a serious fish has been hooked. Then it's time to get the second rod and downrigger up and the ball out of the water. Even then I still prefer to keep the engine in gear until the fish is close to the boat.
I've chartered a fair bit over the years and I've seen lots of different practices in my travels. Should there be a hard and fast policy here, or is it really a case of "it depends"?
My belief is it's usually better to keep the engine in gear so you have steerage way to maneuver out of the busy area, and also the possibility of a second hookup. The boat can be turned a little to bring the fish in where it's easiest - over the aft quarter. If the fish isn't very large and the downrigger gear is reasonably deep, say 80 ft or more, I think it's OK to leave the second downrigger down whilst the fish is landed.
Things change if fishing shallow or if it's clear that a serious fish has been hooked. Then it's time to get the second rod and downrigger up and the ball out of the water. Even then I still prefer to keep the engine in gear until the fish is close to the boat.
I've chartered a fair bit over the years and I've seen lots of different practices in my travels. Should there be a hard and fast policy here, or is it really a case of "it depends"?